What Drones Are The Best For Real Estate?

Humans are generally visual. We like what we see better compared to that which we cannot see or have only had a sneak peek of. The need for better views has now trickled down into the real estate business. Investors are now adopting visual marketing tools and technologies such as drones to entice their clients. Drones are the next frontier for those that love photography and aviation.

Pictures or videos taken by drones for real estate marketing can make a huge difference in a business. They will even improve your property’s listing. Combined with the internet, they are flawless marketing tools. If you are looking to get a drone for taking photos and videos of your real estate property, there are products readily available in the market. However, there are a couple of things you have to consider. This post will carry out a comprehensive review of the best drone for real estate.

DJI Inspire 2 Quadcopter + Zenmuse X4S

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We are living in a world characterized by numerous technological innovations. Any tech savvy real estate investor will agree that drones are revolutionizing the face of the real estate business. If you are looking to market your properties efficiently, you might consider getting yourself the DJI Inspire 2 Quadcopter + Zenmuse X4S Starters Bundle. This drone is without a doubt one of the best real estate drone for photography and videography in the market today.

Despite being in the higher price range, it is constructed with some of the best features. The DJI Inspire 2 Quadcopter + Zenmuse X4S Starters Bundle is an outstanding photographic and cinematic device that captures images from an aerial view. The drone combines the Inspire 2 with the independently offered X4S and X5S gimbal cameras to produce high-quality images. These images are recorded at high bit rates utilizing H. 265 and H. 264 formats. You can also rely on the drone to record images using Zenmuse X5R, certain tastes of Apple ProRes, and CinemaDNG raw using the required licenses that are obtained from DJI.

The images that your potential clients see are recorded and processed by this drone’s CIneCore 2.0 image processing engine. What’s more, Inspire 2 is compatible with the 5.2k Gimbal cameras. The drone will live up to any of your expectations when it comes to taking impressive photos and videos from an aerial view.

When you get the DJI Inspire 2, you do not have to worry much about its longevity. It comes with a 1-year warranty, by which time you will have learnt how to use it effectively. An impressive detail about this drone is that it is hard to crash. This is because it comes with excellent flight control capabilities. Moreover, it has a front-facing FPV camera and an obstacle avoidance system that detects incoming objects 30m ahead. It is also fitted with upward facing infrared sensors that track objects within 5 meters.

Fitted with a professional camera, the image quality is absolutely dashing. This is one of the top camera drones available on the market today. It also has downward facing terrain detection sensors that monitor the ground. It has a dual-battery design that allows you to record for about 27 minutes using this drone. Moreover, it can reach top speeds of 67 mph.

What do we like?• It is fast and responsive.• It has a sturdy construction.• It is fitted with sensors to avoid any crashes.• It flies smoothly, which makes it hard to crash.• The batteries function efficiently; it can even fly on one battery.• The drone has a great camera.• It includes accessories.

What we didn’t like• It is quite costly.• It is a bit heavy.

Who is this product for?It is suitable for real estate investors that are looking for a drone in the higher price range with excellent performance and cinematic quality video. Not for those looking for a compact drone.

DJI Phantom 4 PRO Drone

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When people come to your real estate agency looking for a property to buy, they need to see a preview of the properties on sale. The first impression matters a lot and if you do not have perfect images or clips of the property, you may end up losing your customers before taking them for the visit. Fortunately, you can avoid all this trouble by acquiring the best drone for real estate. An efficient marketing tool such as the DJI Phantom 4 PRO Drone Quadcopter would do your business good.

The Phantom 4 Pro comes with an onboard camera that has been redesigned to use a 1-inch 20 MP CMOS sensor. The camera features a custom engineered lens that comprises of eight elements assorted in seven groups. It also uses a mechanical shutter, which eliminates rolling shutter distortion. This distortion could occur when the drone is flying at high speeds. Once the distortion is eliminated, you can use the drone to take high-quality images of your property.

Moreover, the DJI Phantom 4 PRO Drone Quadcopter has excellent video processing. It offers support for H. 246 4K videos at speeds of 60fps or H. 265 4K at speeds of 30fps. The two are taken with a bit rate of 100Mbps. Better image quality is enhanced by the advanced sensors and processors that it comes fitted with.

Furthermore, you can rely on the drone because of its 5-direction obstacle sensing capabilities. With such features, you would crash the drone only if you wanted to. It is fitted with a pair of high-resolution stereo vision sensors at the front together with a set on its rear side. Its left and right sides also have infrared sensing systems. These features enable obstacle sensing and avoidance, preventing any damages to your drone.

You can rely on this drone to take enough images of your properties because it has a maximum flight time of approximately 30 minutes. Combined with its forward, backward, and downward vision system, you can take as many images as you would need. You control the drone using a remote control that is fitted with a 5.5-inch screen with 1080p resolution. With dual frequencies, this drone has interference resistance that lets you take images and videos at a range of 7 Km/4.3 miles. The Phantom 4 is one of the top drones on the market today.

What do we like?• Its obstacle avoidance features enable it to avoid crashing into objects.• It has a sturdy construction.• It can withstand a crash unless it hits a tree.• The drone is easy to operate.• Its price is great for its quality.

What we didn’t like• You cannot fold it for packing in a different bag. • Setting it up takes a considerable amount of time.• The extra batteries are a bit pricey.

Who is this product for?It is ideal for novice aviators in the real estate business, and those looking for an affordable drone.

Autel Robotics X-Star Drone

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It would just be wrong of us to talk about the best drones for real estate and fail to mention the Autel Robotics X-Star Drone with 4K Camera & Wi-Fi HD Live View. Besides its impressive design, this drone also presents you with excellent features for all your real estate marketing needs. If you are flying the drone in harsh weather conditions, you do not have to worry about sighting your drone because its orange color makes it highly visible.

The drone is not only built to last but also to cover an excellent range. It has a HD Live View of up to 0.62 miles although some users have been able to double the range. It is possible to expand this range by broadcasting the video link using the 900 MHz frequency band instead of the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. This frequency also ensures that the Autel X-Star Drone is not affected by other Wi-Fi signals within the area you are flying it.

The drone comes with an easy-to-remove Gimbal. You are only required to push a button at the side of the Gimbal to get it off. With such a feature, you don’t have to worry about replacing the entire drone when you need to upgrade the camera as payload. All you have to do is get a new camera to take impressive images of your real estate properties.

With this drone, you do not have to worry about storing your images and clips. This is because it comes with a 16 GB microSD card. Other accessories include spare propellers, an intelligent battery, a 1-hour fast charger, and other small parts. In case you have any issues or questions concerning the drone’s operation, Autel Robotics offer 7-days per week customer service through phone, email, or live chat. There is also an extensive knowledge base on their website if you have further inquiries.

The quadcopter is easy to fly, and it provides you with stunning image quality courtesy of its 4K camera. This camera takes 12 MP photos and records ultra HD videos. It provides you with 25 minutes of flight time to take all the photos and videos you want. You can control the drone using its remote controller and use your smartphone to enjoy an HD live view using Starlink app that you can access from either Android or iOS devices.

What do we like?• The manufacturer has excellent customer support.• It is affordable.• It takes clear images.• The camera and gimbal are removable to allow you to make upgrades.• It includes an emergency return to home feature.• It still flies in a moderate breeze.

What we didn’t like• The firmware is not as stable.

Who is this product for?This is an ideal drone for an intermediate pilot. It is also suitable for you if you are operating on a budget. You can read the full review on the x-star drone here.

DJI Mavic Pro Drone

Closing our review is the DJI Mavic Pro Drone Quadcopter Fly More Combo. This is a necessary investment if you are looking to promote your real estate business. The Mavic Pro is a masterpiece by itself, and its small and lightweight design makes it quite efficient for taking photos and videos of your real estate properties.

Moreover, the lightweight design makes it fast with a top speed of 65km per hour or 40 mph. What’ more, it is foldable to almost the size of a brick. Another one of Mavic Pro’s outstanding features is its OcuSync transmission system. The device also comes with a 4K camera that lets you take outstanding photos that you could use for advertising.

It also has GPS and GLONASS positioning systems that let you pinpoint locations accurately. It also has terrain follow, a feature that sets the Mavic Pro at a fixed height. Terrain following is effective if your properties are located in sloping areas. You only need to charge the battery for approximately one hour and experience about 27 minutes of flight time. The camera fitted on the drone shoots cinematic 4K videos and takes 12.7 MP still images. Enhanced camera features include exposure bracketing and burst capture.

What do we like?• It has a compact and lightweight design.• The drone is portable.• It is economically priced.• It includes a quick start manual.• It is easy to fly.• The drone is compatible with some Android and iOS devices – specific models.

What we didn’t like• It has a narrow field of view.• The drone’s package only includes one battery.

Who is this product for?The drone is suitable for real estate agents looking for a super portable and affordable drone.

Benefits of Drones in Real Estate

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There are numerous benefits to bringing in drone technology to your real estate business. Here are some of the benefits of equipping your business with a drone.

I. It helps you take more cinematic, impelling imagesWhen using a drone such as the DJI Inspire 2, you are able to take more flamboyant images that are guaranteed to impress your clientele. A drone will integrate GPS-programmed flight paths with automatic point-of-interest camera targeting to capture such images. After all, a key factor in marketing is presenting your product in the best way possible.

II. It allows you to create appealing virtual tours The real estate is greatly invested in virtual tours. It is an effective way for clients to know all there is to know about a property without having to visit it physically. Drones have revolutionized virtual tours. They help create a natural tour compared to those done by station-based photography. Drones will help to create the perfect visual story. You can even spice it up by making a voice-over track that clearly describes the property.

III. Saves costsBefore the advent of drones, people who wanted to take aerial photos and videos of particular properties could only do so using helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft. These are quite expensive to hire, and even if your business owns one, you cannot compare the costs with those of a drone. Moreover, a drone gives you more precision.

IV. Gives you a competitive edgeUsing drone pictures and images to market your real estate business will undoubtedly give your agency better listings in the market.

V. Growing your businessWhen you use videos and photos taken by a drone to market your real estate properties, you create a niche for yourself. Other sellers might come to you for such services in order to make their properties look outstanding as well.

VI. Allow you to highlight more property featuresUsing a drone is convenient as it captures images from an aerial view. This means that a drone will capture certain features of your properties better. It will also capture attributes that you would otherwise not capture using photographs. A drone will highlight clearly features such as backyards, pools, landscaping, and walking paths. All these are features that clients look for when buying a property.

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How to Choose the Best Real Estate Drone

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When it comes to buying a drone, you have to consider a number of factors. To begin with, it is imperative to note that the quality of a drone is not determined by its price but by its features. With that in mind, here are some important features that you should consider when buying a drone.

I. Battery life A drone is just like a laptop or a computer. After a period of use, it will run out of charge. Keep in mind that a drone consumes a lot of power because it depends on the batteries to fly and capture images and videos. Some of the best models keep power for close to 30 minutes. It is imperative to get one with such a flight time. If you expect to film for more hours than this, you should consider carrying an extra battery.

II. The cameraWhen you are in the real estate industry, pictures and videos are some of the most effective marketing strategies. Consequently, you need to get a drone whose integrated camera has a high-quality photo and video resolution. Besides the drones that come with integrated cameras, you could also find models that let you attach your camera. These models might prove ideal because you can select the resolution you want. If you go for such a model, however, make sure that you have the best digital camera.

III. Integrated GPSWhen you are out to get yourself the perfect drone for real estate, it is advisable to get a model that has GPS integration. The GPS is instrumental in pinpointing the exact location of the drone. A drone that has a GPS also comes with a return-to-home feature that helps to improve the navigation capabilities of the drone. This allows you to take pictures and videos of your real estate with much comfort and ease.

IV. Brushless motorsSome of the drones available in the market have brushed motors while others have brushless motors. The latter is preferable because they are quieter, and they are more durable. The models may also cost a little more, but they are guaranteed to last longer.

V. Range The range of a drone is another important feature. It lets you know how far a drone can go before you lose control of it. The greater the range, the better the drone. If you have to cover vast land, therefore, ensure to go for a model with a long range.

VI. Obstacle avoidanceSome drones come fitted with sensors for obstacle avoidance. These are the perfect drones for real estate because they can detect objects from different directions to avoid crashing. If you buy a drone that does not have obstacle avoidance, you risk crashing it into a tree or wall and damaging it. Moreover, this will make you spend more time trying to control the drone rather than capturing quality images. Ultimately, a drone with obstacle avoidance is what you should go for if you want to excel in your marketing.

VII. Gimbal When you’re getting a drone for real estate, ensure to check if it has a gimbal. A gimbal is a drone feature that helps to keep the camera stable even when the drone flies in windy regions and high altitudes. The feature also helps you take better videos and images of your properties.

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Conclusion

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One of the best ways to market a real estate property is through images and videos. Drones are now the most effective ways of taking such pictures and videos, and tech-savvy real estate investors are adopting them. So far, they have proved to be effective marketing tools as clients are more intrigued by the most visual and attractive features. Thanks to their growing popularity, you will find tons of drone brands in the market, implying that it is imperative to make some considerations before you head out to make the purchase. The products we have listed in this article are some of the best that you will find in the market today. If you intend to market your properties using drones, it would be advisable to consider buying one of the above drones.

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